Spy x Family, Episode 10, The Great Dodgeball Plan Review: Funniest Episode Yet.

Directed by Kenji Takahashi, Episode 10 of Spy x Family, “The Great Dodgeball Plan”, is one of the funniest episodes of the series so far.
Before the jokes start, however, “The Great Dodgeball Plan” begins with some slice-of-life elements, as we see Anya’s teacher Henderson go about his everyday, elegant routine of excercising, saluting the statue of Eden College’s founder and taking a shower (with the shot only focusing on his feet for the latter, thank god).
As the bell rings, signaling the start of the day, we see all of the curtains be flung open at once, again showing how professional Eden College is with its committment to time.
Then, the scene transitions to Damian, where we go more in depth with his character by focusing on a small detail from a previous episode.
This detail is the photot that was taken of Damian and Anya along with their classmates and parents.
However, some may have noticed that Damian is completley alone in the photo, his father Desmond, Twilight’s target, not being present.
Now, four episodes later, “The Great Dodgeball Plan” puts a deliberate focus on this photo, with Damian looking up at it mournfully, longing for his father’s approval.
Damian’s situation is not helped by his two friends coming up to ask him about his brother, seeing in a photobook that he won many Stella Stars.
As his friends swoon over this, they don’t notice Damian’s nerves, as a shadow falls over his face in a pretty good usage of show don’t tell through animation.
Damian never says that he is desperate to gain his father’s approval or that he is nervous that he will not be able to live up to his older brother’s standard, but we can see it on his face clear as day.
Yet, as quick as this happens, Damian is given a chance to live up to his brother’s standard, as his friends point out that he might be able to win a Stella Star if he becomes the MVP of the upcoming dodgeball game in PE.
Daminan’s hopefulness is contrasted with Henderson’s, who is looking forward to teaching his elegant students… with the exception of Anya, Becky, Damian and his friends, who are all arguing when he comes in.
While this is another good joke, it also does point to the notion that Damian’s hope of aquiring a Stella Star through PE is fruitless, much like how Henderson’s hope for his students to be elegant is fruitless.
Unfortunately for Anya, she also takes the rumor of aquiring a Stella Star through PE seriously, as she reports it to Twilight after Becky tells her about it.
Yor immediately tasks herself with training Anya, something that is easier said than done, as Anya struggles with this about as much as she does studying, resulting in various moments of humor, like her pathetically funny attempt at doing situps.
Despite her troubles, Anya believes she is ready on the day of the dodgeball game.
However, the possibility that gaining a Stella Star through PE is just a rumor is not the only problem Anya faces because her team’s main opponent in the dodgeball game is Bill Watkins, a 6-year-old boy who looks more like a twenty-year-old man who eats steroids for breakfast.
This does result in plenty of hilarious moments, though, as we see someone who looks like an adult be a kid.
Probably the funniest moment of his is during his flashback, where he runs up to his father, who is twice his size, and calls him “daddy.”
Hearing that word come from such an adult sounding voice will never not be funny.
As for the dogeball match itself, it is full of even more humorous moments, like flashbacks to Damian’s training, with various visual allusions to locations from other anime, like Namek from Dragon Ball Z.
There is also Emile’s over dramatic sacrifice, followed by Ewen getting hit not a moment later because he wasn’t paying attention, followed by Anya reading Bill’s mind to dodge his attacks.
However, she quickly becomes distracted by shooting Damian her signature “heh” expression, leading to her nearly getting hit and falling over, allowing Bill his chance to throw the ball at her. Rather than be hit, Anya is saved by Damian who sacrifices himself for her in a moment of growth.
Anya looks set to avenge Damian’s sacrifice in the game, which Damian likes to remind her is not a literal death, remembering the ultimate move Yor taught her.
The animation for this ultimate move, the Star Catch Arrow, is spectacular and is made all the more hilarious when Anya spectacularly fails, allowing Bill to knock her out of the game with a simple throw.
As expected, though, there was no Stella Star up for whoever won the game.
It was just a rumor, in the end.
On the other hand, Henderson does think that Anya and Damian may be future recipients of Stella Stars, given how they were able to put aside their differences to work togethor… only for this elegant thought to be immediately cut off by Damian starting an argument with Anya again, as the episode concludes.
Overall, “The Great Dodgeball Plan” is a great episode of Spy x Family, with it having some of the best humor of the series so far.